Vending machine



Patented Mar..v 20, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE VENDING MACHINE Application May 19, 1932, Serial No. 612,229

1 Claim.

This invention relates to a vending machine.

An object of the invention is to provide a machine specially designed to dispense individual objects, such as individual quantities of ice cream and the like.

Another object is to provide a machine of the character described wherein novel means are provided for storing the articles to be vended, as well as novel ejecting means whereby the articles may be ejected singly for access to the purchaser.

'With the above and other objects in view this invention has particular relation to certain novel features of construction, operation and arrangement of parts an example of which is given in this specification and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein:-

Figure 1 shows a front elevation of the machine.

Figure 2 shows a cross sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of Figure 4.

Figure 3 shows a fragmentary vertical sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 4.

Figure 4 shows a vertical sectional view of the complete machine.

Figure 5 shows a side elevation of a skeleton carton employed and Figure 6 shows a plan view of a coin controlled mechanism employed.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings wherein like numerals of reference designate similar parts in each of the figures the numeral 1 designates the casing which should be formed of relatively thick Walls and which is provided with a removable rear panel 2. This casing is lprovided with one or more vertical storage chambers 3, 3, 3, for containing the articles of merchandise such as blocks of ice creamand the like which are to be sold. The storage chambers 3 are preferably provided with a metallic lining as 4 and each chamber is of the required cross sectional contour to receive snugly the articles of merchandise. There is, preferably, a plurality of storage chambers so that articles of different Iiavors may be stored in such manner that the desired avor may be selected by the purchaser. In actual practice, the` articles to be inserted into `the storage chambers, will be assembled in a skeleton like carton 5. These skeletons, whenfllled with the merchandise. will then be inserted into the chambers and may be removed for reuse when emptied, if desired.

In front of the merchandise chambers 3 and extending entirely across the machine, there is a downwardly tapering ice chamber 6 provided to contain crushed ice and whose bottom is formed of foraminatcd material.

Beneath the storage chambers 3 there is a downwardly and forwardly declining discharge chute 'I Whose forward end is closed by the doors 8, 8, 8, which are normally held closed by springs as 9 and which are provided with suitable grips 5@ 10 by means of which they may be opened.

There is a plunger 11 behind the bottom article 12 of each storage space, said plungers 11 being operable in the transverse guideways 13 provided for the purpose. Each plunger is connected to the upper end of a lever 14 by means of the upper push bar 15. There is a lower push bar 16 whose inner end is connected to the lower end of each lever 14 and the outer end of this lower push bar is accessible in front of the machine and has a suitable knob 17 thereon. Each push bar 16 is provided with a slip joint as 16 so that it will operate more freely. Each lever 14 is pivoted at an intermediate point on a rearwardly extending arm 18 and these arms are 75 xed to a suitable cross rod 19 whose ends rotate in bearings in the respective side walls of the casing.

When a push bar 16 is forced inwardly the. corresponding plunger 11 will be moved outwardly 80 and will discharge the article in front of it into Athe chute 7 and said article will pass down the coin controlled mechanism associated with said push bar and designated generally by the nu-y meral 21. This coincontrolled mechanism is of conventional construction and forms no part of the present invention and for that reason will not be described specifically in detail.

The storage chambers and ice chamber are closed at the top by a suitable door or shutter 22 forming 'a portion of the top of the casing 1.

Across the lower portion of the casing in front there is a transparent window 23 provided for the purpose of inspecting the storage chambers to ascertain whether or not they are supplied with merchandise.

On each tier of articles there is a block 24, preferably of wood ot such thickness that it will not paas out'through the discharge opening at no the bottom of the corresponding chamber, and provided for locking the corresponding coin controlled mechanism 21 when said chamber 3 is emptied.

'I'he drawings and description disclose what is now considered to be a preferred form of the invention by way of illustration only while the broad principle of the invention will be defined by the appended claim.

What we claim is:

A vending machine including a casing having a storage chamber therein shaped to snugly receive articles of merchandise of similar dimensions and to feed said articles downwardly by gravity, said casing having a forwardly declining chute leading from the bottom of said chamber, a plunger arranged to move transversely across the lower end of said chamber, a rod in in and extending across the casing, an arm on said rod and swingable in a plane at right angles operator.

LOUIS BONACCOLTA.

JACOB NOODLEMAN. 

